December 31, 2017

PRAYER WALK: We'll be meeting at Tim's across from Coles on January 6th at 8:30am. Please contact Jane deVisser at pjdevisser@sympatico.ca, if you'd like to join us.

GREETING: A warm smile, a shake of the hand, a pat on the back, a quick hug, all make you feel welcomed. Whether church family or guests, we want to make sure that all those coming to Mountainview each Sunday feel at home. Greeting is an important part of that. We are updating the Greeters List for January – July 2018. Can you take a turn to welcome family and friends in God’s house? Please let me know if you can volunteer, on a regular basis (4-5X’s a year) or maybe only once or twice. We’d be glad to have you. If you can no longer serve in this ministry, please also let me know so that I can take you off the list. Please email Karin at office@mountainviewcrc.org or call 905- 945-0004 ext. 221.

"Still have a VHS machine??? The library at Mountainview is discarding ALL of its VHS movies.... so please help yourself to some free movies in the library now while they last..."

Pastor’s Keyboard – The New Year … “Space for God”New Years celebrations include fresh starts. Some will look at curbed spending, decreasing debt and increased savings. Others will focus on losing weight, eating healthier and exercising more. As staff at Mountainview we see the new year as a fresh start in our spiritual disciplines as well. On January 7th we are going to begin a sermon series on “Building Your Prayer Life.” The series comes from a book on prayer written by Don Postema, called “Space for God.” The first message is entitled “Making Space for God,” followed by a message on January 14th called “My Only Comfort.” On January 21st we will look at “Gratitude, Taking Nothing for Granted,” and Cadet Sunday on January 28th will focus on “God Seeking Us.” February 4th, will help us address “Prayer as Act,” and the series will close with a message on February 11th, called “Wrestling with God.” Many of you are already have active prayer lives, involved in Small Groups, in Coffee Break, and ministry leadership positions. This is an invitation to anyone who wants to strengthen their prayer journey, whether conversations with God are stagnant and stale, or alive and well. On Thursday evenings, starting January 4th, you are invited to pick up a book and come for 9 weeks and walk through Don Postema’s Space for God, while the sermon series “Building Your Prayer Life,” is being preached. Please sign up A.S.A.P., in the foyer following the service or through the office, so we can determine how many books need to be purchased. We will be meeting in the Choir Room from 7– 9 pm. January is a great month to set resolutions towards bettering ourselves, whether it be financially, health wise, or more disciplined in time management. Consider adding spiritual disciplines to your list of resolutions and join us in growing Space for God. Pastor Sid

JOYFUL GIVING! Received on December 24th, 2017:

Mountainview Ministries (Budget + PAR) $55,717 As of this collection,we have met 88% of our annual budget and still need $109,700 to meetthe budget for 2017.

Contribution Envelopes: have been placed in your mail slots. If I have missed you, or youwish to obtain envelopes for your donations, please contact me...Will Klein, Financial Administrator:905 945-0004, ext. 229 or treasurer@mountainviewcrc.org.

CHURCH CALENDAR: December 31st – January 7th, 2017

Tuesday (2nd) 7:30 p.m. Volleyball, Gym

Wednesday (3rd) 6:45 p.m. Prayer Group, Prayer room

Thursday (4th) 7:30 p.m. PMT/DMT, Council room

Thursday 7:30 p.m. Praise Team Practice, Sanctuary

LOCAL & DENOMINATIONAL NEWS

A LIGHT SHINING IN DARKNESS - In the Bible, the coming of the Messiah is often associated with light. Join Groundwork as we study Isaiah 9:2-3, Isaiah 60:1-3, 19-20, Matthew 5:14-16, and Revelation 22:1-5 to see what this theme means for our understanding of Christ’s light and how we live while waiting for his second coming. Listen now at GroundworkOnline.com and subscribe to Groundwork's weekly emails for future episodes.

Save the date! - Living in the third third of life brings both challenges and opportunities. This training event will help disability advocates, deacons and other church leaders, and people in their third third minister within and embrace the life God gives us as we age. “Aging: Challenges and Opportunities” will take place at Maranatha CRC, Woodstock ON, on April 21, 2018. Syd Hielema, Director of the CRC’s Faith Formation Ministry will keynote: “Growing in Faith in the Third Third of Life.”

Young Adults! Join other wonderful folks aged 18-30ish from across Ontario for the 2018 installment of the Young Adult Winter Retreat on January 26-28th, at Maranatha CRC in Woodstock! This year, we will focus on the theme “Culture” & how we’re to represent Christ to our neighbours around us”, with Pastor Mike Collins from Providence CRC as our speaker. It will be a weekend full of spiritual encouragement, faith-based discussions, service, workshops, worship, fellowship, and funtivities! Be sure to register by January 11th to receive the Early Bird rate of just $60 for the entire weekend (after that it goes up to $70). For more info and to register, visit our Facebook page “Young Adult Winter Retreat” or email ya.retreat.team@gmail.com. We hope to see you there!!

Come to a fundraising concert for Jubilee’s Refugee Work! Canadian Worship Leader and Christian Artist Brooke Nicholls (www.brookenicholls.ca) and local band DAWN (John Dahl; Mendelt Hoekstra; Julie Hoff; Gail Poulsen; Scott Vernon) are LIVE, in concert on Saturday, January 13, 2018 at 7:30pm at Jubilee Fellowship Church (St. Catharines). Tickets are $15 in advance; $20 at the door; $12 for seniors and children. All proceeds (including free will offering) will go to support Jubilee’s work with Refugees. Reserve your tickets by calling Jubilee at 905-687-3372. Professional sound by Soundbox Productions.

January Series 2018 - Coming this January for the 31st year, Calvin College presents the 2018 January Series – the award winning free liberal arts education delivered in 15 weekly, lunchtime lectures. This year the series begins on January 3 and continues weekdays through January 23 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. EST. with topics ranging from millennials and faith to restorative justice, confident pluralism, radical generosity and so much more by top experts in their fields. Thousands in west Michigan will join us on Calvin’s campus for the daily noontime lectures, others will join the conversation by watching the live feed at more than 50 remote webcast sites across the continent (including 16 sites in Michigan), while others will listen online. For more information about the speakers, topics, remote sites and listening options, visit our website at www.calvin.edu/january.

Steve Bell will be in Toronto on February 10th hosting his “For the Journey: Refreshing Christian Faith and Spiritual Tradition for the Weary and the Wary.” – day retreat at Knox Presbyterian Church. Earlybird tickets are only $99 (until January 15th). Visit www.stevebell.com/events for more information.

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost - Until February 2See Colin Carney's solo exhibition of digital photography, "Not All Who Wander Are Lost," in the Redeemer Art Gallery until February 2. Learn more at www.redeemer.ca/colin-carney.

Armand Ruffo, January 18 - The Canada Council for the Arts, the Hamilton Poetry Centre and Redeemer are pleased to bring a number of poets to our campus. Everyone is welcome to attend these readings. More information at www.redeemer.ca/events.

Dominican Republic Church Construction - Join together with the local church in Los Alcarrizos, Dominican Republic to construct a new church building. Their current building is too small, in very poor shape, and has little ventilation. Church members have been gathering materials together and are really hoping for a team to come and help them this year. For more information visit resonateglobalmission.org/go or contact Bill Thornburg - bthornburg@crcna.org. Deadline for application is January 5, 2018.

Program Coordinator - Are you passionate about coordinating projects and supporting monitoring and evaluation requirements in a disaster response context? If so, this could be the role for you. World Renew, an agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), has a full time opening for a Program Coordinator on the International Disaster Response team, based in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. Please visit our website at www.worldrenew.net/careers for more information, or to apply. The application deadline is January 22, 2018.

World Renew trip to Haiti - World Renew is organizing an open team to travel to Haiti! Are you passionate about sustainable community development? Deforestation is a serious environmental issue that threatens Haiti. Spend 8 days (March 10-18, 2018) learning about Haiti and participating in reforestation projects. Reforestation helps reduce the impact of mudslides and improves soil quality for increased food security and income for families. Applicants should be able to do physical work in tropical conditions. There may be opportunities for construction work. For more information, please contact Iona Buisman at ibuisman@worldrenew.net.

OFFERING SCHEDULE FOR JANUARY 2018

January 7th A.M. - Benevolence: Your contribution to the Benevolent Fund provides assistance for the needs of our church family and the local community. These include basic needs such as food, clothing, housing and schooling. As our church grows the needs within increase and become more varied. Please continue to support our ministry of benevolence.

P.M. – CRCNA Faith Formation: Faith Formation Ministries encourages and equips local Christian Reformed ministry leaders in their calling to shape lifelong faith formation in their context so that all generations have an intentional and resilient faith. We create and curate helpful faith formation resources for growing faith in children, teens, and adults. Our Regional Catalyzers are available to meet with you in person or by phone to explore ways to strengthen many aspects of faith formation in your church. They also offer workshops for targeted learning on specific topics. Please support Faith Formation.

January 14th A.M. – Smithville Christian High: is providing an authentically Christian education to teens from all over central Niagara. Smithville Christian High graduates are serving God and bringing shalom all over the world. Your gift will be used to keep tuition in check so that many families can have access to the exciting programs that enable our students to thrive. Thank-you for your part in keeping Christian education affordable at all levels.

P.M. – Calvin College: is a liberal arts college in the Reformed tradition. Founded in 1876, Calvin College is one of the largest Christian colleges in North America with over 4,000 students and over 70 academic programs. Every dollar Calvin College receives from ministry shares is used to aid Canadian Christian Reformed students through denominational and exchange grants.

January 21st A.M. – Resonate Global Mission: is continuing their partnership with churches in the United States and Canada to plant churches, do campus ministry, train and equip pastors, and develop future leaders. They will also continue to send missionaries overseas, proclaiming the Gospel, and forging lasting partnerships. In addition to this ongoing work, they are tackling new opportunities for ministry. Here in North America, we need experience in international ministry to help churches effectively reach across cultural barriers and forge partnerships within new communities of faith. In other nations, we need expertise in church planting and campus ministry to help people in every nation discover God’s plan for their church, community, and life. With your prayers and financial support, as a single agency we will be able to equip all our churches for ministry and join together with what God is already doing around the world.

P.M. – Edu Deo Ministries: is a Canadian, Christian, mission organization serving children in developing countries with quality education rooted in a Biblical worldview. Our strategic approach includes accessibility for all children, teacher training, curriculum development and school construction. We promote sustainable schools by partnering long-term with school associations and mission organizations that share our vision of Evangelism + Education.

January 28th A.M. – Cadet’s: Cadets is a program for boys 9-14 years of age. The ministry of cadets is to teach the boys to learn more about God and respond to the world around them in a Christ-centered way. This is done through activities such as Bible study, badge work, crafts, games, campouts and league activities.

P.M.- N.A.C.E (Niagara Association for Christian Education): We, as a community of supporters, invest our gifts of time, talent, and money to endow the next generation with a vital, Christ-centred education, shaping the lives of our youth to the glory of God and the building of His Kingdom. This collection helps our students and their families to reap the benefits of Christian Education.